BorgBackup vs Timeshift
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
BorgBackup
Deduplicating archiver with compression and encryption
VS
Timeshift
System restore tool for Linux using snapshots
| Feature | BorgBackup | Timeshift |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,588 | ★ 4,219 |
| First released | 2015 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Carbonite, Backblaze | Time Machine, System Restore |
Why pick each one
Choose Timeshift if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (4.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Vala
Frequently asked questions
Is BorgBackup or Timeshift better?
Neither is universally better. BorgBackup has the larger community, while Timeshift is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BorgBackup and Timeshift free and open-source?
Yes. BorgBackup is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Timeshift under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BorgBackup and Timeshift with Docker?
BorgBackup: check the project docs for container support. Timeshift: check the project docs for container support.